Thunder Emperor Precious Technique: Thunder Emperor Finger

Level ninety-seven?

Meng Yiran was truly startled by the Dragon Duke's words.

"This Titan Giant Ape is actually that powerful?"

She spoke in disbelief.

In all her years, she had never even heard of anyone at level ninety-seven, let alone seen one.

To her, someone with level ninety-seven cultivation was a figure of legend in the soul master world.

"There's nothing surprising about it. Although a hundred-thousand-year soul beast's cultivation is nowhere near that of a level ninety-seven soul master, the Titan Giant Ape is an anomaly among soul beasts. Its strength can't be judged by cultivation alone."

The Dragon Duke's voice was full of awe.

That was only natural.

Whether human or soul beast, any powerful being deserved respect.

After a moment's consideration, he added, "Still, although the Titan Giant Ape is strong, that young Douluo shouldn't have much trouble leaving."

"If even the Titan Giant Ape can't keep him here..."

The Snake Granny exclaimed in admiration, "A Titled Douluo so young-his future is unimaginable!"

Instinctively, she glanced at her granddaughter again.

She had originally considered her granddaughter a genius.

But after seeing Qin Xiao, she felt Meng Yiran's talent could only be called ordinary.

Utterly ordinary.

Compared with Qin Xiao, so-called geniuses were simply in a different league.

"Roar! Roar! Roar!"

While the three spoke, Qin Xiao and the Titan Giant Ape exchanged several more blows.

The Titan Giant Ape was roaring excitedly.

The Dragon Duke looked over and immediately warned them, "Old woman, Yiran, be careful. I think this Titan Giant Ape is about to unleash its savage nature. That young Douluo will probably retreat. When he does, we can't stay here either."

The Snake Granny nodded.

Meng Yiran said quietly, "Understood."

Meanwhile.

Facing the increasingly savage Titan Giant Ape, Qin Xiao was delighted rather than alarmed.

"Now this is satisfying!"

After all, he was a fanatic for both cultivation and combat.

Otherwise, even if he could refine lightning to increase his soul power, cultivating behind closed doors would never have brought him this far.

"If you were just a little fiercer, that would be even better. I've gained a new understanding of my martial soul. I'm only a step away from unleashing a fraction of its power."

Ever since the fight with the Titan Giant Ape began, Qin Xiao hadn't used a single soul skill. He had fought purely by using his martial soul to control lightning.

All to hone himself.

The Thunder Emperor's strength didn't come from so-called soul ring skills, after all. It came from precious techniques!

Embarrassingly enough, Qin Xiao's current mastery of the Thunder Emperor martial soul could only be described as the most rudimentary level.

He hadn't mastered even one of the individual moves among the Thunder Emperor's divine abilities, such as Nine Heavens Tribulation Light, Thunder Transforming into Stars, or Thunder Emperor Finger.

But today, he had glimpsed the way forward.

Suddenly.

At that moment, Qin Xiao noticed the Titan Giant Ape's chest swell sharply as he drew in great lungfuls of air, gathering power.

"Is he about to unleash Titan Sky Cannon?"

That possibility immediately occurred to Qin Xiao.

"Perfect. I wanted to test whether I'm on the right path."

With that thought, he raised his right hand, folding in four fingers and leaving only his index finger extended.

Then he pointed at the Titan Giant Ape from afar.

Crack!

A bolt of lightning shot from Qin Xiao's fingertip.

At first, it was only as slender as a finger.

But in the blink of an eye, it swelled to the thickness of a bucket.

"Roar!"

Not to be outdone, the Titan Giant Ape opened his mouth and spat out an invisible shock wave.

Boom!

The two masses of energy collided in midair.

The shock wave was instantly annihilated beneath the lightning.

The lightning, however, lost none of its momentum and slammed viciously into the Titan Giant Ape's head.

Boom, boom, boom...

The Titan Giant Ape staggered several steps backward before finally steadying himself.

In the distance.

Meng Yiran was stunned. "Grandpa, didn't you just say Your Holiness was going to retreat?"

"Why does he seem even fiercer than before?"

Well, this...

Remembering how confidently he had analyzed the situation, only for reality to slap him in the face, the Dragon Duke's aged face flushed.

"Well, I overlooked something earlier. Perhaps Your Holiness's attribute happens to counter the Titan Giant Ape."

The Dragon Duke hurriedly found himself a way to save face. "Yes, that's it. The Titan Giant Ape excels at strength and aggressive attacks. This kind of soul power clash isn't his specialty, which is why that happened."

"But with the Titan Giant Ape's defenses, Your Holiness's attacks probably can't break through at all. So getting struck by lightning a few times is nothing..."

Before he could finish, however, the Snake Granny beside him tugged at his shoulder. "Old man, look... Something's wrong with the Titan Giant Ape."

The Dragon Duke could clearly feel the hand gripping him trembling.

What had happened?

With that question in mind, he looked over.

He froze.

The Titan Giant Ape had steadied himself, but large patches of fur on his head had been charred black.

Worse still, he spat out a mouthful of blood, and the Dragon Duke saw two enormous teeth, each about a meter long, come out with it.

"Holy shit..."

"Is this real? Your Holiness's attack is that powerful? The Titan Giant Ape took one hit, and the lightning broke two of his teeth?"

"This is unbelievable."

As he spoke, he rubbed his eyes hard, afraid he had seen wrong.

"Grandpa..."

"Is this what you meant by weak attacks that can't break through his defenses? Do you have some misunderstanding of the word weak?"

Meng Yiran couldn't help questioning him.

The Dragon Duke: ⊙▃⊙.

He conceded.

He no longer dared to make careless remarks.

"Let's watch. Perhaps a miracle really will happen."

"Thunder Emperor Finger. It's still not right."

"If the Titan Giant Ape took a real Thunder Emperor Finger, he'd already be on his knees."

Yet despite inflicting such damage on the Titan Giant Ape, Qin Xiao wasn't satisfied.

He was too embarrassed even to call it Thunder Emperor Finger...

Of course, his target happened to be the Titan Giant Ape.

If any Titled Douluo at Qin Xiao's level had taken that blow instead, they would have been gravely wounded, if not killed.

"Roar!"

At the sight of the blood and broken teeth on the ground, the Titan Giant Ape's eyes turned red.

He threw back his head and roared furiously.

The blood made him even more ferocious.

"If baring your teeth worked, I'd have run away long ago."

Qin Xiao gave a mocking smile, then provocatively curled a finger at the Titan Giant Ape.

Without a doubt, this was a gesture understood by humans and soul beasts alike.

The Titan Giant Ape understood instantly: the human before him was telling him to come over.

Damn it!

He was pushing a man... no, an ape too far!

As an overlord of the Star Dou Great Forest, he couldn't remember how long it had been since anyone had provoked him like this.

The next moment, he strode across dozens of meters and charged up to Qin Xiao, unleashing a chaotic barrage of punches.

"Too slow."

"And all you know is brute force. You don't have any technique for applying it."

"In that respect, Tang Hao leaves you streets behind."

The Titan Giant Ape's attacks were certainly powerful, but Qin Xiao didn't find them particularly threatening.

After all, he wasn't hitting Qin Xiao. He was hitting the air.

No matter how the Titan Giant Ape attacked, Qin Xiao dodged with ease. When it came to speed, Qin Xiao utterly outclassed him.

At the same time, after each dodge, Qin Xiao casually pointed a finger, continually refining his Thunder Emperor Finger.

Clearly, he was using the Titan Giant Ape as a whetstone.

He was having a great time.

The Titan Giant Ape, however, suffered, howling as bolt after bolt of lightning struck him.

"He's so handsome."

"Someone can actually face a hundred-thousand-year soul beast with such effortless grace. He's just so handsome!"

Watching the distant battle, Meng Yiran's eyes shone.

Before she knew it, Qin Xiao's graceful figure had been branded deep in her heart.

Even a lifetime couldn't erase it!

"What a monster!"

"A boy like him can actually thrash the Titan Giant Ape. Even the fairy tales I heard as a child wouldn't dare tell a story like this."

The Dragon Duke clicked his tongue repeatedly at the sight.

He looked at Qin Xiao, then at himself.

He felt as though all his long years of life had gone to the dogs.

Beside him, the Snake Granny nodded numbly as well. "If I hadn't seen it myself, I couldn't have imagined someone with such extraordinary talent existing on the Douluo Continent. It's impossible to imagine what heights he'll reach or what he'll achieve."

Hearing that, the Dragon Duke smiled bitterly. "He's already someone we can only look up to. In the future, we might not even be worthy of glimpsing his silhouette."

It had to be said, that was a despair-inducing thought.

"Xiao San, I think Er Ming might not be a match for Qin Xiao. Why don't we leave? Let's stop provoking him."

In the treetops two or three hundred meters behind the Titan Giant Ape, tears were already shimmering in Xiao Wu's eyes.

Er Ming was family to her.

Yet she had just watched his teeth get broken before her very eyes.

Her heart ached uncontrollably, filled with boundless guilt. If she hadn't begged him, Er Ming wouldn't have gone looking for trouble with Qin Xiao.

And he certainly wouldn't have ended up in such a miserable state.

"No, impossible. I don't believe Qin Xiao is completely fine!"

"My dad was injured so badly. I don't believe he can still fight at his peak! He's doing it on purpose. Qin Xiao must be putting on a show for us."

Purple light glimmered in Tang San's eyes as he watched the battle between the Titan Giant Ape and Qin Xiao closely.

He couldn't accept Xiao Wu's words.

Even now, he firmly believed his deductions couldn't be wrong.

"Xiao San, can't you see Er Ming can't even touch the hem of Qin Xiao's clothes? And every attack Qin Xiao makes deals considerable damage to Er Ming. If this continues, I'm afraid Er Ming really won't hold out."

Xiao Wu spoke with anguish written across her face.

Unfortunately.

Tang San didn't take her words in at all. After frowning in thought for a while, understanding suddenly dawned on his face.

"Xiao Wu, I know where the problem is!"

"It's his soul skills!"

"Qin Xiao hasn't used a single soul skill since the battle began. Some restriction must be preventing him from using them."

"I knew it. He's a level ninety-two Titled Douluo. How could he contend with my dad without paying a price?"

Tang San firmly believed Qin Xiao had used a self-created soul skill similar to the secret Ring Detonation technique Tang Hao had mentioned.

"Is that really it?" Xiao Wu was bewildered.

Tang San nodded emphatically. "As long as he holds out, Er Ming will definitely win! Teacher said a soul master without soul skills is like a bird that has lost its wings!"

"All right, then..."

Xiao Wu nodded, half convinced.

"No, that's not right."

"Still not quite there."

"The rune arrangement is still unstable."

Qin Xiao sank into contemplation.

He unleashed the Thunder Emperor Finger over and over until his entire body had gone numb.

He could no longer even hear the Titan Giant Ape's cries.

He had no idea how much time passed.

Then, suddenly, everything became clear.

"I get it! I get it! So that's where the problem was!"

A knowing smile unconsciously curled Qin Xiao's lips.

Through repeated practice, he had finally grasped an individual move within the Thunder Emperor Precious Technique-the Thunder Emperor Finger!

The next instant, he moved, retreating a hundred meters away.

The Titan Giant Ape was dumbfounded.

What was going on?

Why had he stopped attacking?

"You helped me comprehend the Thunder Emperor Finger."

"To repay that kindness, I've decided to give you a quick death."

Qin Xiao sneered, and the arcs of lightning coiling around him began to change.

They actually twisted into mysterious runes.

Then, as though drawn by some special force, those runes aligned and combined.

CRACK!

A thunderclap resounded across the sky above the Star Dou Great Forest.

A terrifying sight unfolded.

Deathly white arcs of lightning condensed without dispersing, converging on Qin Xiao.

Gulp!

The Titan Giant Ape looked up at Qin Xiao and swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing.

Too terrifying!

The power gathering around Qin Xiao filled even him with dread.

Violence, terror, destruction...

Waves of these auras erupted from Qin Xiao, forcing every soul beast within ten li to prostrate themselves.

"This is terrifying."

"That aura isn't even directed at us, yet it's making my very soul tremble."

"I can't imagine the pressure the Titan Giant Ape must be enduring, facing Your Holiness head-on."

In the distance, the Dragon Duke, the Snake Granny, and Meng Yiran could barely remain standing even as they supported one another, only just keeping themselves from collapsing.

"He's too powerful. Even the Titan Giant Ape probably won't withstand this blow!"

The Snake Granny was utterly dumbstruck.

"Er Ming, run!"

At that moment, Xiao Wu could no longer hold back and shouted to Er Ming at the top of her lungs.

Hearing her, the Titan Giant Ape turned toward Xiao Wu, and she looked back at him.

Their eyes met. Without a single word, each understood the meaning in the other's gaze.

The Titan Giant Ape looked helpless and despairing.

"Xiao San, Er Ming told me some unseen force has locked onto him. Qin Xiao's soul skill is guaranteed to hit! More importantly, the power in this soul skill is something Er Ming can't withstand at all. What do we do? What are we supposed to do? Xiao San, hurry and save him!"

Xiao Wu spoke in a panic, tears spilling down despite herself.

"What? Even Er Ming can't withstand it?"

Tang San was shocked.

His mind began racing. "Xiao Wu, let's go. It isn't safe here anymore. If we wait, it'll be too late. Qin Xiao won't spare us."

He was already beginning to panic.

He could figure it out just by wiggling his toes: once Qin Xiao dealt with Er Ming, he certainly wouldn't spare them.

"Go?"

Xiao Wu shook her head. "I'm not leaving. I can't leave Er Ming here alone."

"Xiao Wu, you saw it too. The soul power fluctuations up ahead are far too powerful. Going over there would only get us killed. Staying far away from here is our best choice."

What? Stay away?

Xiao Wu was stunned. "Xiao San, how could you say something like that? Er Ming is our companion! You're actually going to abandon him?"

Tang San frowned and tried to reason with her. "Xiao Wu, calm down. Er Ming must want us to leave right now too. After all, staying here would only mean waiting to die. If we live, we'll surely be able to avenge him someday."